While undergraduates are busy biting hats on Hey Day, jumping in bouncy castles during Fling, or banding together to scream the night before the first economics midterm, graduate students live in a different world.

One year since its launch, the NOMsense Bakery — which specializes in decadent cookie sandwiches — is no longer a hobby three undergraduate students are passionate about. The cookie sandwich business has concrete plans to serve Penn students.

Wearing suits every day and flocking to Huntsman Hall for OCR information sessions is not the only way Wharton students chase their dreams. Nick Silverio, a Wharton sophomore, is pursuing his dance career while taking a short break from Penn.

Despite constant criticism that selective colleges are inaccessible to students of lower socio-economic background, the number of Pell Grant recipients has increased in the last six years at Penn.
Since 2008, the Pell Grant recipients rose by 60 percent, with 15 percent of freshman receiving the grant as a part of their financial aid package.

College application does not end with clicking the submit button on the Common App. Alumni interview is another procedure most Penn applicants go through.
“Students are pretty nervous about the interviews,” Laurie Weingarten, a Penn alumna and director of One-Stop College Counseling said.